National Trust plants 3500th tree as part of a 65-hectare habitat restoration project at The Weir Garden in Herefordshire
£607k from National Highways funds the Weir Priority Habitat restoration at the National Trust’s Weir Estate, providing an enormous boost for nature and storing carbon for centuries to come.
Thousands of trees, plants, and seeds have been planted, to establish diverse habitats for wildlife, including orchards, woodlands, meadows, hedgerows, and wood pasture.
The National Trust team in Herefordshire is proud to contribute to the National Trust’s broader strategy to restore nature everywhere.
Tours of the new habitats showcase the positive impact National Trust visitors’ support has on wildlife in Herefordshire.
The Weir Garden features a four-hectare 18th century riverside and walled garden along the banks of the River Wye. It sits within 100 hectares of parkland and farmland that make up The Weir estate.
In recent years, the National Trust carried out work to identify priorities for the use and management of the parkland and farmland. This work led to the development of the Weir Priority Habitat restoration project.
Now that planting is complete, the National Trust will manage the ongoing restoration of these priority habitats. This will include livestock grazing and a complementary hay cutting regime to achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity, thus ensuring a climate-resilient landscape.
National Trust Area Ranger Tim Pyne said:
“Thanks to the generous funding from National Highways, my team and I have embraced this fantastic opportunity to use a wide range of our skills and techniques to benefit nature.
“Creating a meaningful quantity of interconnected and diverse habitats that will genuinely benefit a wide range of plant and animal species is exciting. It’s really satisfying to be able to show the project to visitors as part of our guided ranger walks.”
National Highways Engineering Team Manager, Sam Twist, said:
“We are delighted to see this scheme coming to fruition and look forward to seeing the results of the team’s hard labours in all their glory as the woodland and grasslands develop. National Highways is committed to maximising our biodiversity contributions to local environments, to helping wildlife thrive and creating new or enhancing existing habitats.
“We are also supportive of any efforts to reduce carbon. This project ticks all of those boxes. Congratulations to the trust for completing this work which will have such a significant impact on the local environment and wildlife and which we were very happy to support through our Designated Funds [1].”
For more on The Weir Priority Habitat restoration and to find out about guided ranger tours, visit The Weir Garden
You can also watch a short film about the project here: The Weir Priority Habitat film
